Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An ecclesiastical banner, especially one carried in processions.
- n. The banner adopted by Constantine I after his conversion to Christianity.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A Roman military standard adopted by the later emperors as the imperial standard. It consisted of a staff or lance carrying a purple banner on a cross-bar. This banner usually bore the effigy of the general or emperor; but Constantine the Great, after his conversion, placed upon it, woven in gold, the cross and the monogram (chrisma) or emblem of Christ,
or , consisting of the Greek letters XP (Chr), standing for Christ. In later times the name was given to the monogram itself, or to the cross in the monogram. - n. A standard or banner of similar form, borne in ecclesiastical processions of the Roman Catholic Church.
- n. Figuratively, a moral standard, guide, or device.
Wiktionary
- n. The Roman military standard adopted by Constantine I. The banner was known for its Christian chi-rho sign - ☧.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The standard adopted by the Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity. It is described as a pike bearing a silk banner hanging from a crosspiece, and surmounted by a golden crown. It bore a monogram of the first two letters (ΧΡ) (which appear like the English letters X and P), of the name of Christ in its Greek form. Later, the name was given to various modifications of this standard.
Etymologies
- From Latin labarum, from Ancient Greek λαβαρόν (labaron). (Wiktionary)
- Late Latin, probably from alteration of Greek labrāton, laurel-leaf standard, from Latin laureātum, neuter of laureātus, adorned with laurel; see laureate. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The term labarum, which is of uncertain derivation, was probably familiar in the Roman army from the reign of Hadrian.”
“Maxentius, saw in the clouds, as well as his whole army, the grand imperial standard called the labarum, surmounted with a”
“The solemn epithets of, safety of the republic, glory of the army, restoration of public happiness, are equally applied to the religious and military trophies; and there is still extant a medal of the emperor Constantius, where the standard of the labarum is accompanied with these memorable words, By This Sign”
“After the battle, Constantine adopted the labarum — ☧, a juxtaposition of the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P) as a symbol for Christ — as his monogram.”
“He received it, notwithstanding the labarum, and received further the title of Pontifex Maximus, which he retained all his life.”
“One author tries to link the oriflamme to Charlemagne's lance and through it all the way back to Constantine's labarum, which was taken from a pagan sanctuary located near modern Saint-Denis.”
“They found more crosses, nine ancient swords, and a labarum, an imperial Roman standard.”
“Above all military representations of the cross the original imperial labarum shone in the richest decorations of gold and gems; was intrusted to the truest and bravest fifty of the body guard; filled the Christians with the spirit of victory, and spread fear and terror among their enemies; until, under the weak successors of Theodosius II., it fell out of use, and was lodged as a venerable relic in the imperial palace at Constantinople.”
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 2, August, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy
“Accordingly, after his triumphal entrance into Rome, he had his statue erected upon the forum with the labarum in his right hand, and the inscription beneath: 'By this saving sign, the true token of bravery, I have delivered your city from the yoke of the tyrant.”
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 2, August, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy
“Several coins with the legend _Gloria Exercitus_ have upon the same side two soldiers with a labarum or military standard between them, upon the banner of which is the symbol {image "monogram4. gif"}.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘labarum’.
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phrontistery - l
from phrontistery.info
labarum, labefactation, labeorphily, labile, lability, labret, lac, laches, lacis, laic, lam?, lar and 496 more...
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You're a Grand Old Flag
guidon, banderole, gonfalon, pennon, ensign, banner, standard, banneret, oriflamme, pennant, jack, saltire and 64 more...
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O So Zhinsky!
zarf, liripipe, theandric, tazza, bobeche, autotelic, gonfalon, refulgent, crepuscular, caduceus, knop, labarum and 46 more...
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Most Obscure Words
acatalectic, acosmism, acuate, acuminate, adscititious, adytum, akratisma, alieniloquy, allelomorph, allochiria, allodium, alnage and 620 more...
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wreckingball's Words
reprehensible, problematize, crepuscular, deleterious, pestilent, strumpet, draggletail, interrobang, meretricious, systematize, schadenfreude, capricious and 443 more...
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It Has a Name??
Yes. Yes it does.
aglet, armsaye, scroop, rowel, ferrule, rasceta, chanking, philtrum, frenulum, keeper, agelast, punt and 285 more...
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thricedotted's Words
schadenfreude, vanquish, calumny, obsequious, rhapsody, expostulate, promontory, bordello, quintessence, catharsis, recapitulation, myriad and 937 more...
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EldriVon's list
My favourite words and I few that I just need to remember.
lugubrious, lachrymose, afflatus, aperçu, chthonic, discursive, draconian, ennui, alacrity, maudlin, fissiparous, bathetic and 9 more...
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morpheme's Words
perambulate, synaesthesia, morpheme, neoimperialism, lucidity, loquacious, schadenfreude, quixotic, serendipity, plethora, mellifluous, uber and 33 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for labarum.
reesetee Catholic paraphernalia. Now there's a phrase. ;-) Oct 16, 2007
npydyuan I see. I would have been raised Catholic if either of my parents had kept up with it; as it was, we only went to mass when visiting my grandparents in South Dakota. But I still have a soft spot for Catholic paraphernalia. :-) Oct 16, 2007
reesetee Mostly sentimental, npydyuan. One reason is that I was raised Catholic, and this symbol was worked into the railing around the altar at our church. Seeing it always makes me think of home. :-) I also like the visual symmetry and the meaning itself. Oct 16, 2007
chained_bear There's that x again, just like in xmas. :) Oct 16, 2007
npydyuan Curious: what reasons? Oct 16, 2007
reesetee Thanks, John. Always loved this symbol, for many reasons. Oct 16, 2007
john
"The labarum was a military standard which displayed the first two Greek letters of the word Christ ( Greek: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ or Χ�?ιστός )—Chi (χ) and Rho, (�?).1 It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine I (Greek: Μέγας Κωνσταντίνος ).
The etymology of the word before Constantine's usage of it is unclear."
- Wikipedia
Oct 16, 2007